by Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY Sports

by Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY Sports

LAKELAND, Fla. -- Bruce Rondon did not arrive to his first major league spring training camp as the Detroit Tigers' anointed closer.

It was his job to lose, however, and through four Grapefruit League outings Rondon was well on his way to doing just that.

So when Rondon jogged in to face the New York Mets in the eighth inning Friday, it was an outing rife with more tension than most in these early days of March.

This time, he did not disappoint.

Rondon hit the 100 mph mark three times on the radar gun, but more important, had a relatively smooth outing against the Mets. He gave up a pair of hits -- one a soft bloop to center field -- and struck out two.

More important, he showed improved fastball command after the Tigers skipped an outing so he could work on mechanical adjustments with pitching coach Jeff Jones.

"I'm not going to get excited over one scoreless inning," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "But he was better."

On the surface, that wouldn't be saying much. In his previous three appearances, Rondon allowed eight baserunners while registering eight outs, his four walks matching his four strikeouts. That created much angst in Tigers camp, as the 23-year-old was favored to assume the ninth-inning role created by the departure of free agent Jose Valverde.

Friday, Rondon turned in a much cleaner effort.

He registered swinging strikeouts of Wilmer Flores and Cesar Puello, and the crowd of 7,498 at Joker Marchant Stadium murmured when a radar reading in center field reported Rondon cracked the 100-mph mark in fanning Flores.

"He probably wanted to get that triple digits on the scoreboard," Leyland mused in explaining why Rondon threw just one off-speed pitch -- a slider -- in his outing. "People oohed and ahhed behind me. That's OK."

Indeed, the Tigers know Rondon can throw hard. They want to see fastball command and the development of a second put-away pitch before entrusting the closer role on a club considered strong favorites to defend their American League pennant.

Rondon, a 260-pound, 22-year-old from Venezuela, insisted his improvements were due to mechanical improvements, and not the high-stakes nature of his first stint in a major league camp.

"I was just ready to pitch," he said through an interpreter. "I feel a lot better."

The Tigers feel mildly relieved, if nothing else. Leyland glanced down at his calendar, noted how much time was left in spring training -- 22 days -- and professed he'd stay calm with Rondon.

"Time is t the ally of a lot of guys right now," Leyland said. "As we shorten up the spring, it won't be."